How to start a blog – Food blogging 101

by

So you want to start a blog right? And finding the right guidance seems like a herculean task right? Not to worry, starting a food blog isn’t rocket science like it might seem like. It’s actually as easy as ABC if you’ve got the right guidance. I can’t count the number of mails i get in my inbox asking about food blogging in general so i decided to create this page. Here’s one of the mails below;

Good day Dobby,

Warm and sincere greetings to you. i came across your blog today and i was very happy because of what you do. Your blog is just different from normal blog. most people go into news and entertainment but you chose to be different, kudos. My name is A**** I**** and i studied tourism. i want to run a blog. Can you pls advice me on how to go about it. or share me a short story on how you started your blog. the challenges and other important things to note.

Thanks.

Now this post is not just about food blogging alone but can also be applied to other types of blogging in general. In the coming posts, i’d be sharing with you a few blogging tips and tricks. If you’ve been postponing the big start, here’s the thing…Now is the time to start that blog you’ve always wanted, not tomorrow, not next week but NOW!To start a food blog, here are some of the basic steps you need to take first;

1. Find a nicheA niche can best be described as the body of content you want to focus on. Now don’t get me wrong, food blogging is already a niche on it’s own and is by far different from other niches such as entertainment, tech, gossip and the other popular niches you know of. What I mean is, food blogging is a big monster on it’s own with little minions under it so focusing on a section would go a long way in defining the purpose of the blog. It’s either you want to focus on African food, intercontinental food, Baking or just about anything you desire as long as you don’t end up derailing. 2. Choose a good domain nameThere’s a whole lot that comes with a name. It’s like laying the foundation of a building. Once you’ve gotten the name, the entire structure is aligned to the foundation. If the foundation is off even just a little bit, it’s just a matter of time before the whole building ends up collapsing so choosing a name is just as important as every other thing. One tip though, Try making it short. The shorter the name the easier for it to be remembered. Also, getting a custom domain name i.e sugarcaneland.com instead of sugarcaneland.blogspot.com is usually the way to go. To get a custom domain name would cost a little token though.3. Choose a good platform

There are several platforms you could use to start a blog such as tumblr,blogger, wordpress e.t.c but i’d talk about the two main platforms topping the chart. These are; Blogger & WordPress(a) Blogger:Most people choose blogger because of the simplicity and ease of use. Blogger is owned by google and to run it, you’d need a google account. It’s also automatically linked with other google products such as google adsense and google+. Blogger is fully maintained, hosted and controlled by Google. This means you have to follow the rules put in place so you don’t run the risk of getting removed from the platform.

(b) WordPressOn the other hand, Most people choose wordpress to have full control, ownership and freedom over their website. There’s the free version (WordPress.com) just like blogger and there’s the paid version where you can have full control of your site (WordPress.org). WordPress.org is an open-source platform therefore, you are solely responsible for everything such as Hosting, Security, Spam protection, Backup, Customization e.t.c. All this costs some lump amount of cash to maintain the site yearly. This takes us to the next step if you are using wordpress which is getting a good host.

4. Get a good Host There are several good hosting platforms on the net to choose from such as Bluehost, Dreamhost, GoDaddy to name a few. Depending on your budget, these hosting sites are the top ranking reliable and affordable hosting sites on the web. These web hosting services provided offer at least one free domain name once you register.

5. Glam it up!Making your website pretty has a way of bringing people back. When i was designing the theme for dobbyssignature which has the cartoon character with some puffs on the head, i was just doing it for fun. But now when people hear dobby’s signature, the first thing that comes to mind is the character with puffs on the head. You don’t really have to go overboard with the design, a simple theme would do just fine. Platforms such as blogger and wordpress have lots of free themes and those that could be bought. You could start out with a free theme first and as time progresses, you could invest in getting more advanced themes to give your site a more professional look.

This is really helpful. Thanks and God bless u. But the main thing is I know ow all this,it's getting the content down that's the key. Do u just write what comes to mind or when u make a great meal,u decide to peg it down or u write down on a note pad till one is ready to blog. These are the questions I have.

Hi pri pri, most times i make the meal and decide to write about it. Other times, i get inspired, write down whatever i'm inspired by and then try it out before blogging about it. An yes, i actually have a blog journal and notepads to keep me organised and focused.

Hi dobby. Thank you so much for all d lovely post and receipes. I must confess u have inspired me so much.I Actually came across your blog from another one which I tot was ma best,but now I know better. Your detailed explanations and not holding back on anything makes me addicted to ur blog. Of all your receipes,av only tried d kokoro,(money constraints tho)which came out soft and not penciled mouth like yours,hence I can't sell it as I earlier intended. Wonder wat went wrong! Meanyle concerning d blogging iss, ma restraints has always been,what do d blogger get in return?how does it work? Is it just meant for posting wat you have passion for,or d blogger gain something in return? Please would you mind enlightening me on how it works,cos I have a lot of healthy information I will love to blog about. Thank you so much in anticipation of a reply

Hi Anon, thanks for the compliments :)…glad to have you here. On the kokoro issue, the more flour you add the harder the kokoro gets. For the questions on blogging, i'm currently working on a post on that so you'd understand better which would in turn benefit others also. For the money making part, i'd say yes if you work hard at it you'd make money. would post the link here soon so don't fail to subscribe to updates. Hope this helps.